This article provides important, valuable details about all the species of mosquitoes — found in Texas and the Southeastern United States, many if not most of which have a worldwide distribution — that bite man, the livestock man tends and husbands, and man’s companion pets. In general, the mosquitoes that bite and suck blood from their hosts also have the potential to serve as important disease vectors. Sometimes this is not the case, for a variety of reasons (including, for example, the presence in some — e.g., Ae. hendersoni — of a salivary gland escape, or SGE, barrier that prevents otherwise infected mosquitoes from passing on the pathogens they carry) and most mosquitoes that are known disease vectors have a limited repertoire of diseases that they are able to vector.

Unfortunately for man, the list within that “limited” disease repertoire is lengthy. Furthermore, in many locales the number of species of mosquitoes capable of infecting their hosts with pathogenic organisms is as numerous as the diseases they can carry. For that reason, compiling the details on them is a daunting, never-ending task.

Mosquito Facts

Though more than 3,500 species of mosquitoes have been identified worldwide, only about 175 species are found in North America. Each U.S. state has just a few of those mosquito species within its borders. Some, though, have considerably more than others. For example, some 85 species of mosquitoes are reported to have been found in Texas (possibly the most of any U.S. state), while Florida has about 80; New Jersey, by comparison, has 63; North Carolina, 61; Alabama, Michigan, and Kentucky have 60; Maryland, 59; Mississippi, 58; Georgia, 57; Illinois and Virginia, 55; California, 53; Louisiana, 52; Washington State, 51; Oregon, 50; West Virginia, 28; and Tennessee, 23.

The number of species of mosquitoes found in a given state does not necessarily indicate how troublesome they are. Though Georgia has only 67% as many mosquito species as Texas, Atlanta has the dubious honor of being the mosquito capital of the U.S., at least in terms of the number of treatments carried out by one nationwide pest management firm each year. Next is Chicago, Illinois. Houston, the first Texas city on the list of 20 worst cities in the U.S. for mosquito infestations, is ranked sixth in the nation.

This article is a dynamic work in process. As with all our scientific studies, we begin at the deepest roots of the taxonomical tree:

Taxonomy:

Kingdom Animalia (an-uh-MAIL-uh-yuh) — first described in 1758 by the Swedish taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), using the Latin word animal = “a living being,” from the Latin word anima = “vital breath”, to refer to multicellular, eukaryotic organisms whose body plans become fixed during development, some of which undergo additional processes of metamorphosis later in their lives; most of which are motile, and thus exhibit spontaneous and independent movements; and all of whom are heterotrophs that feed by ingesting other organisms or their products;

Phylum Arthropoda (ahr-THROPP-uh-duh) — first described in 1829 by the French zoologist Pierre André Latreille [November 20, 1762 – February 6, 1833], using the two Greek roots αρθρον (AR-thrawn) = jointed + ποδ (pawd) = foot, in an obvious reference to animals with jointed feet, but in the more narrow context of the invertebrates, which have segmented bodies as well as jointed appendages;

Class Insecta (en-SEK-tuh) — first described in 1758 by the Swedish taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), using the Latin word insectum, a calque of the Greek word ἔντομον ( EN-toh-mawn) = “(that which is) cut into sections”; comprised of arthropods with chitinous external (exo-) skeletons, a three part body composed of a distinct head, thorax, and abdomen, the midmost part having three pairs of jointed legs, and the foremost part having a pair of compound eyes and antennae;

Subclass Pterygota (tare-ee-GOH-tuh) — first described in 1888 by Lang, using the Greek roots πτερυξ (TARE-oos) = wing, to refer to insects with wings, or that had wings but in the process of evolution have since lost them;

Infraclass Neoptera (nee-OPP-tur-uh) — first described in 1890 by the Dutch entomologist Frederick Maurits van der Wulp (1818-1899) using the Greek roots νεος (NEE-ose) = youthful, new + πτερυ (TARE-ohn) = wing, to refer to winged insects that are capable of folding their wings over their abdomens, in contrast to more primitive winged insects that are unable to flex their wings in this manner (e.g., the dragonflies, in the infraclass Paleoptera);

Superorder Endopterygota (ehn-doh-tare-ee-GOH-tuh) — first described by the English physician and entomologist David Sharp (1840-1922) using the Greek root ενδον (ENN-dohn) = within + the established expression pterygota (see above) to refer to insects within the latter subclass that undergo complete metamorphosis, i.e., larval, pupal, and adult stages

Order Diptera (DIPP-tur-uh) — first described in 1758 by the Swedish taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), using the Greek prefix δι- (dye) = two- + the Greek root πτερυ (TARE-ohn) = wing, to refer to insects having two flight wings on the mesothorax and reduced non-flight structures known as halteres — derived from the hind wings and used as flight stabilizers — on the metathorax, in contrast to typical winged insects that possess four flight wings, two on the mesothorax and two on the metathorax; flies in the order Strepsiptera also have but two flight wings and reduced non-flight halteres, but the halteres are on the mesothorax — derived from the forewings — and the flight wings are on the metathorax;

Suborder Nematocera (nim-at-oh-SERR-uh) — a paraphyletic suborder, having one of its families, the Anisopodidae, a sister taxon to the suborder Brachysera; members of this suborder are elongated flies having thin, segmented antennae (plumose in some males) and mostly aquatic larvae; comprised of the mosquitoes (Culicidae), crane flies (Tipulidae), gnats (Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae, and Sciaridae), black flies Simuliidae), and midges (Chironomidae, Cecidomyiidae, and Ceratopogonidae); the mostly aquatic larvae have distinct heads with mouthparts often modified for filter feeding; pupae are orthorrhaphous (i.e., adults emerge from the pupa through a straight seam in the pupal cuticle); bodies and legs of adults are usually elongate; many species form mating swarms of males, wherein competition for females is extreme;

Family Culicidae (kew-LISS-uh-dee) — the mosquitoes (from the Spanish word mosca = fly + the Spanish diminutive ito = small, thus little fly), small, midge-like flies whose females of most genera are ectoparasites with tube-like mouthparts (the proboscis) that pierce a hosts’ skin and enable the mosquito to draw in the host’s blood; the genus Toxorhynchites, whose members are called elephant mosquitoes and whose larvae are known as mosquito eaters, is one of many exceptions to the general rule that mosquitoes suck blood from their hosts, as its adults — which are among the largest known species of mosquitoes — are examples of the many kinds of mosquito whose adults of both sexes do not consume blood but subsist on carbohydrate-rich materials, such as honeydew, or saps and juices from damaged plants, refuse, fruit, and nectar instead, and their larvae prey on the larvae of other mosquitoes and similar nektonic prey in contrast with blood-sucking species of mosquitoes; the blood-sucking mosquitoes are members of two subfamilies, the Anophelinae and the Culicinae;

Subfamily Anophelinae (uh-noff-uh-LINN-ee) — the smaller of the two subfamilies of the Culicidae family, comprised of three genera, the most infamous being the genus Anopheles, commonly known as malaria mosquitoes;

GenusAnopheles (uh-NOFF-uh-leez) — first described and named by J. W. Meigen in 1818, using two Greek particles: the negative particle αν (awn) = “not”, and the Greek suffix όφελος (OH-fell-ose) = “profit”, which in combination give the meaning “useless”; at present some 460 species are recognized (eight of which are found in Texas), over 100 of these species are capable of transmitting human malaria (parasitic protozoa in the order Haemosporida, the family Plasmodidae, and the genus Plasmodium), though only 30–40 commonly do so; Anopheles gambiae — which is now recognized as a complex of seven morphologically indistinguishable species, none of which is found in the United States — is one of the best known, because of its predominant role in the transmission of the most dangerous malaria parasite species (to humans), Plasmodium falciparum; Anopheles mosquitoes are responsible for about 440,000 human deaths each year from malaria; some species of Anopheles serve as vectors for canine heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis, the filariasis-causing species Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi, and viruses such as one that causes O’nyong’nyong fever; an association of brain tumor incidence and malaria suggests the Anopheles might transmit a virus or other agent that could cause brain tumors; though this genus was first described in 1901 by Frederick Vincent Theobald (1868 – 6 March 1930), an English entomologist who authored a vast monograph in six volumes on the Diptera, A Monograph of the Culicidae of the World (1901-1910); the taxonomy of the genus remains unsettled; species inclusion is based on morphological characteristics such as wing spots, head anatomy, larval and pupal anatomy, chromosome structure, and — more recently — on DNA sequences; the genus belongs to the subfamily Anophelinae, which is divided into three genera: Anopheles Meigen (which has a nearly worldwide distribution), Bironella Theobald (found only in Australia, with 11 described species) and Chagasia Cruz (confined to the Neotropics, with four described species); Bironella has been divided into three subgenera: Bironella Theobald (two species), Brugella Edwards (three species) and Neobironella Tenorio (three species); Bironella appears to be the sister taxon to the Anopheles, with Chagasia forming the outgroup in this subfamily; the type species of the genus is Anopheles maculipennis; the Anopheles genus has been subdivided into seven subgenera based primarily on the number and positions of specialized setae on the gonocoxites of the male genitalia; the system of subgenera originated with the work of Christophers, who in 1915 described three subgenera: Anopheles (widely distributed), Myzomyia (later renamed Cellia, confined to the Old World) and Nyssorhynchus (Neotropical); the latter was first described as Lavernia by Theobald; Edwards in 1932 added the subgenus Stethomyia (Neotropical in distribution); the subgenus Kerteszia (also Neotropical in distribution) was described by Edwards in 1932, at the time considered a subgrouping of Nyssorhynchus; it was elevated to subgenus status by Komp in 1937; two additional subgenera have since been recognized: Baimaia (confined to Southeast Asia) by Harbach et al. (2005) and Lophopodomyia (Neotropical in distribution) by Antunes (1937); IDENTIFICATION: anopheline adults rest with their abdomens positioned at a discrete angle to the surface, whereas other species keep their bodies parallel to the surface, which makes them easy to identify when sitting on the skin; anophelines also have long palps approximately equal in length to the proboscis, and are very dark mosquitoes covered in dark brown to black hairs; anopheline females deposit eggs individually on the surface of the water, and prefer fresh water streams, ponds, and lakes with aquatic vegetation; anopheline eggs are unique in having floats on either side;

SpeciesAnopheles atropos — a salt marsh mosquito found in coastal areas along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.

SpeciesAnopheles barberi — found throughout the eastern half of the United States, but relatively rare in most areas.

SpeciesAnopheles crucians complex — a group of at least seven mosquito species that, in the adult stage, are nearly indistinguishable and that have overlapping ranges and similar biologies.

SpeciesAnopheles perplexans — an uncommon mosquito with a spotty distribution that includes isolated spots throughout the eastern United States. This species is not known to transmit any pathogens within the United States.

SpeciesAnopheles pseudopunctipennis — though considered a serious vector of malaria in Latin America, it is not known to transmit human pathogens in the United States; this species is relatively rare throughout its U.S. range, which includes the states of Louisiana, most of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, western and southern portions of Mississippi, southwestern Tennessee, and south-central Nebraska.

Species Anopheles punctipennis— prior to eradication of malaria in the United States, this species was an important vector of the malaria pathogen; it is a common, widespread mosquito found throughout much of the United States and southern Canada, where it often frequents neighborhoods, parks, and woodlands.

SpeciesAnopheles quadrimaculatus group — once considered a single species, and historically the most important vector of malaria in the eastern United States — a serious plague here for centuries until its final eradication in the 1950’s (though occasional cases of autochthonous, i.e., local transmission in the U.S. still occur — the Anopheles quadrimaculatus group is now recognized as a complex of five sibling species; the most common hosts are large mammals including humans; each species in the Anopheles quadrimaculatus group has dark scales on the wings with patches of scales forming four darker spots on the wing; eggs of members of the Anopheles auadrimaculatus group, which cannot survive desiccation, hatch within two to three days after oviposition;

SpeciesAnopheles walkeri — not an important vector of human pathogens; found throughout much of the eastern United States and Canada.

GenusCoquillettidia — nearly 60 species recognized worldwide, but most diverse in the tropics; only one species found in the Southeastern United States;

SpeciesCoquillettidia perturbans — commonly referred to as the cattail mosquito; adults are medium sized, stout bodied, and speckled, with the body covered in a mixture of dark and light broad scales; females are persistent and painful biters that feed on the blood of mammals and birds; adults encountered in spring ans summer, reaching their greatest abundance in August; considered a bridge vector of eastern equine encephalitis virus in the United States, in that they acquire the virus from birds, then transmit it to humans and horses;

Subfamily Culicinae (kew-luh-SEE–nee) — the largest subfamily of Culicidae, comprised of 3,046 species of Culicinae mosquitoes in 108 genera and 11 tribes; as with all true flies, these mosquitoes are small flies with fore wings for flight and hind wings reduced to halteres for balance, with long, slender, legs and proboscis-style mouth parts for feeding on vertebrate blood or plant fluids; females, which alone are blood feeders, require a high quality protein meal as a prerequisite to oviposition; being well adapted to host-finding, females move adroitly from one blood meal to another; on injecting saliva to prevent clotting of the host’s blood, pathogens picked up from other hosts are often injected as well, making the females efficient vectors of disease;

Tribe Aedini (EE-dinn-eye) — the largest tribe in the Culicinae, with 81 recognized genera;

GenusAedes (EE-deez) — a genus of of mosquitoes, native to tropical and subtropical zones and now found on all continents except Antarctica now recognized to include over 700 species, some 50 of which are known to be found in the United States; some species have been spread by human activity; Aedes albopictus, a particularly invasive species,recently spread to the New World, including the United States, via the used-tire trade; the listing of Aedes species below includes all species in this genus found in the United States and known to bite man, or that have been found to be infected with pathogenic organisms that affect man, livestock tended and husbanded by man, and/or man’s companion pets:

SpeciesAedes aegypti (EE-deez ee-JIPP-tye) — First described by Linnaeus, and commonly known as the yellow fever mosquito, is native to Africa, was brought to the new world on ships, and has been a nuisance species in the United States for centuries; as its common name indicates, this species is the primary vector of yellow fever, a disease that is prevalent in tropical South America and Africa, and that often emerges in temperate regions during summer months; it is a container-inhabiting mosquito that often breeds in unused flowerpots, spare tires, untreated swimming pools, and drainage ditches. It thrives in urbanized areas, in close contact with people, and is exceptionally successful as a vector for a wide range of mosquito-borne diseases, including besides yellow fever, the Zika virus; male and female adults are day-active and feed on plant nectar; females bloodfeed on humans as a necessary prerequisite to the production of eggs; eggs have the ability to survive desiccation for long periods of time, allowing them to be easily spread to new locations; RANGE: S. Carolina south to Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and the eastern and gulf counties of Texas as well as practically all the inland counties except those in the Texas panhandle and south toward El Paso.

SpeciesAedes albopictus (EE-deez owl-boh-PIK-tiz) — Bites man, carries Cache Valley virus, chikungunya, dengue fever, Eastern equine encephalitis, West Nile virus, Yellow Fever, Zika virus; known as the Asian tiger mosquito, or the ‘forest mosquito’, this species is native to the tropical and subtropical areas of Southeast Asia; however, in the past couple of decades it has managed to spread to many other regions of the world, including North America, through the transport of goods and international travel; the species is characterized by its black and white striped legs, and small black and white striped body. This mosquito has become a significant pest in many communities because it closely associates with humans (rather than living in wetlands), and typically flies and feeds in the daytime in addition to at dusk and dawn. The insect is called a tiger mosquito for its striped appearance;s RANGE: Virginia south to Florida, all the gulf states to central, south, and east Texas, east Oklahoma and east Kansas, Missouri, southern and eastern Illinois, south Indiana and Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas;

Species Aedes atlanticus and Aedes tormentor (these two species are almost indistinguishable as adults, have overlapping ranges, and share similar biologies; larvae of the two may be distinguished by differences in the arrangement of comb scales and siphon setae [Burkett-Cadena (2013)]) — Though known to carry Keystone virus, West Nile virus, La Crosse encephalitis, and Eastern Equine encephalitis, these species are not considered important vectors of any human pathogens; females are of medium size, and exhibit brown, white and silvery-white colorations; as with two other species in their range (Ae. infirmatus and Ae. dupreei) the scutum is brown with a central white stripe; the abdomen has lateral patches of white at the base of each segment; tarsi and wings are dark; adults reach their greatest abundance in mid to late summer; females feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians; females most active in twilight hours, but bite in broad daylight if resting habitat is disturbed; RANGE: Ae. atlanticus ranges fromeast and north Texaseastward to Virginia and southward to Florida; Ae. tormentor ranges from east Texas northward through southern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, then southward bypassing Appalachia and northward to the eastern portions of Virginia and North Carolina, and southward through the northern half of Florida;

SpeciesAedes atropalpus (often spelled Aedes atropalpos) — Bites man, carries La Crosse encephalitis, Plasmodium gallinaceum, St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile virus; a small but well-marked mosquito with dark body adorned with gold and white scales; hind legs with narrow bands at base and the apex of each segment, a character shared only with Ae. canadensis; scutum is dark brown, bordered on each side by a patch of golden setae; dark abdomen with pale patches at side of each segment; wings with patch of pale scales at base of costal vein; females autogenous, laying first batch of eggs without taking a blood meal; subsequently takes blood meals and is a pest where abundant; not known to transmit human pathogens; RANGE: Tennessee, north Alabama and Georgia, northward through Wisconsin to Canada and eastward to the Atlantic coast; not found in Texas;

SpeciesAedes aurifer — Bites man; medium in size, dark in color, patches of gold and white scales on thorax and abdomen; females normally do not fly far from their breeding sites; RANGE: eastern halves of Minnesota, Iowa, eastward through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, northern portions of West Virginia and Virginia, to Great Lakes and southern Canada; not found in Texas; not known to be important vector of human pathogens;

SpeciesAedes bicristatus — Bites man; occurs in the coastal mountains and Sierra Nevada foothills of Central California; in Lake County breeding habitats are grassy meadow pools and ditches, while in the Sierra Nevada typical breeding sites include dredger tailing pits as well as meadow-like situations; areas in which A. bicristatas is found are subject to cold winter rains and occasional light snowfall; larval development observed to require up to 14 weeks; larvae occurred alone in Lake County, but frequent associates in the Sierra Nevada were Aedes increpitus Dyar, Culiseta incidens (Thomson), and Culiseta inornata (Williston);

SpeciesAedes bimaculatus— Bites man; in Texas, confirmed specimens collected in the three southern gulf coast counties of Cameron, Kleburg, and San Patricio; its range extends from south Texas to El Salvador;

SpeciesAedes brelandi — Carries dengue fever; the North American Aedes (Protomacleaya) Triseriatus Group includes four species of mosquitoes, Ae. brelandi Zavortink, 1972, Ae. hendersoni Cockerell, 1918, Ae. triseriatus (Say, 1823), and Ae. zoosophus Dyar and Knab, 1918 (Zavortink 1972, Taylor 1990); when first recognized, the group included only three species with dark tarsi, Ae. brelandi, Ae. hendersoni, and Ae. triseriatus (Zavortink 1972). Ae. zoosophus, which differs most conspicuously from these species by having broad white bands on the tarsi, was placed into the monotypic Zoosophus Group (Zavortink 1972), but was added to the Triseriatus Group by Taylor (1990) after molecular and genetic studies by Munstermann et al. (1982) and Taylor (1990) showed the species to be closely related to the dark-legged species and reproductively compatible with them; in Texas, Ae. brelandi has been found only in the heel of the Texas boot (Brewster County); it is more common in Mexico; immature stages have been collected from natural breeding sites such as tree holes and from artificial containers;

SpeciesAedes campestris— Bites man, carries California encephalitis virus, heartworm, Western equine encephalitis; an arbovirus survey conducted during August 1985 at White Sands Missile Range in southcentral New Mexico, following a suspected arboviral disease epizootic among feral horses, resulted in a total of 20,566 mosquitoes (18,505 females and 2,061 males) and 8,900 biting gnats subsequently assayed for virus; female mosquitoes were principally Aedes campestris (54.8%), Aedes dorsalis (30.4%) and Culex tarsalis (13.2%); arboviruses were not isolated from biting gnats, but mosquitoes yielded a total of 37 viral isolates, including western equine encephalitis (WEE), California serogroup, Cache Valey, and Hart Park viruses in addition to 2, as yet unidentified, rhabdoviruses; isolates of WEE virus were from 9 pools of Ae. campestris, 6 of Cx. tarsalis and 3 of Ae. dorsalis; California serogroup viruses, including 2 subtypes, were obtained from 7 pools of females and 1 pool of males of Ae. campestris and from 4 pools of Ae. dorsalis; Cache Valley and Hart Park viruses were isolated from single pools of Ae. dorsalis and Cx. tarsalis, respectively, and the rhabdoviruses were obtained from Ae. campestris and Psorophora signipennis;

SpeciesAedes canadensis – woodland pool mosquito — Bites man, carries California encephalitis virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, heartworm Jamestown Canyon virus, La Crosse encephalitis, and West Nile virus; females are medium sized, withy brown scutums, dark brown abdomens conspicuously pointed at its apex, with patches of lateral white scales on scutum and abdomen, pale bands on basal and apical portions of each tarsal segment in both sexes, wings with dark scales; females digest their blood meals then lay eggs in depressions in the ground that will fill with water in the following winter; eggs remain dormant in the soil until the depressions they are laid in become filled with water; the species is known as an aggressive, day-active mosquito (that while a frequent pest of humans prefers the box turtle most of all) that is present in North America in two subspecies, Ae. canadensis canadensis, which is widely distributed throughout the northern and central U.S., through Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, east, central, and north Texas (excluding the Texas panhandle), and thence eastward across the gulf states to Florida where it is common except in the southern two thirds of the state; Ae. canadensis mathesoni, commonly found east of the Mississippi River, primarily in north Florida, southeast Alabama, central, south, and east Georgia, and southern South Carolina;

SpeciesAedes cantator (recently reclassified by some authorities as Ochlerotatus cantator, q.v.) – brown saltmarsh mosquito — Bites man, carries Eastern equine encephalitis, Jamestown Canyon virus, West Nile virus; medium sized with brown and white markings; scutum is reddish brown with dark scaled proboscis and palps; abdomen with pale basal bands on each segment, narrowest near their midpoints; wings have only dark scales; hind tarsi have narrow pale bands on each segment; shares many characters with Ae. vexans; inhabits marshes and pools of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, New England and the American Mid-Atlantic States, and is considered the most common species of mosquito in many parts of New Brunswick and Maine; has short, budlike anal gills; not found in Texas;

Species Aedes cinereus — Bites man, carries Bunyamwera virus, California encephalitis virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, Jamestown Canyon virus, Sindbis virus, West Nile virus; a small mosquito that lacks distinguishing features; body mostly brown with pale areas on thorax and abdomen; lateral patches of pale scales on abdomen often coalesce to form continuous broad pale lateral stripe; palps very small in both males and females; females mostly feed on mammals, including deer, raccoons, rabbits, opossums, foxes, and rodents; will bite humans and can be a pest where abundant; not known to be important vector of human pathogens; RANGE: widely distributed in Canada, throughout the U.S. except in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, southern Louisiana, and central and south Florida;

SpeciesAedes communis – woodland snow pool mosquito — Bites man, carries California encephalitis virus, Jamestown Canyon virus, Sindbis virus; known by some as a snow pool mosquito, Ae. communis is also an important pollinator of orchids in northern region; most common in the state of New Jersey, but also found throughout much of the Northern United States, Canada, and Alaska; usually inhabits dense forests at high elevations; larvae mostly found a few feet from the shore in deep snow pools, which reside at greater than 1,500 feet in elevation; in the early 1970s, scientists determined that Ae. communis was an important pollinator of Platanthera obtusata; as the snowpool mosquito eats nectar from the floral spur, its eye naturally comes into contact with the pollinium, a cluster of pollen that sticks to the mosquito’s eye; later, when it eats from another flower, the pollinium touches the stigma of that flower, and the flower is pollinated;

SpeciesAedes deserticola– western treehole mosquito — Bites man; a mountain species found in California;

SpeciesAedes dorsalis – summer saltmarsh mosquito — Bites man, carries California encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, Western equine encephalitis; distributed over much of North American, northern Europe and Asia; in the United States, the mosquito reaches greatest abundance from the plains states to the Pacific coast; in the east, it has been reported in lesser numbers across the Great Lakes states to the east coast states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Jersey; Ae. dorsalis was classified by Pratt (1959) as having a “Temporary Pool” type of life cycle; females produce an average of about 130 eggs which are deposited in 1-6 batches in the moist soils of shallow depressions exposed to periodic flooding; most females live less than 90 days and males rarely live for more than 30 days; overwinters in the egg stage, the eggs hatching after flooding during the first warm weather in the spring; hatching is dependent on a reduction of dissolved oxygen within the breeding pool and upon the reflooding of the larval habitat, thus, breeding can be continuous throughout the warm season; in Utah, 10 successive broods in a single season were common; eggs require partial dryness for a period of at least 5 days before hatching, and some do not hatch on the first flooding, providing eggs that will hatch during subsequent flooding; Ae. dorsalis is well known for migrating over long distances; adults are strong fliers and have been traced for 22 miles in Utah and more than 30 miles in California; adults regarded as important pests in western North America that avidly feed on humans and domestic animals, and is one of the most annoying pest species in western Canada; the bite of the female has been described as vicious, and the mosquito will attack any time of the day or night; peak activity occurs toward evening or during calm, cloudy days; periods of high biting activity have also been observed when weather conditions are humid; man and other large mammals are the preferred hosts, though the mosquito will feed on large birds if no mammalian hosts are available; females interrupted taking a bloodmeal repeatedly return to the same or other nearby host until feeding is complete; in the western United States, the reproductive cycle begins in March and concludes with freezing weather in October or early November; adults are most active at temperatures ranging from 50-95 degrees F with activity ceasing at temperatures below 42 degrees F; completion times of larval and pupal stages is temperature dependent; mean temperature of 75-80 degrees F is optimum for rapid development; in that range, growth from egg to the emergence of the adult can be completed in 51/2 -7 days;

SpeciesAedes dupreei— Carries West Nile virus; small with brown and silvery-white coloration; scutum has stripe of silver scaled down center with brown scales laterally; abdomen mostly dark with lateral patches of silvery white scales at base of each segment; tarsi, wings, and proboscis dark; resembles Ae. atlanticus, Ae. tormentor, and Ae. infirmatus; usually reaches greatest abundance in mid to late summer (August and September); little is known about feeding habits of females, though they are believed to feed mostly on songbirds; not thought to be important vectors of human pathogens; RANGE: throughout the eastern half of the U.S., including the eastern half of Texas;

Species Aedes epactius— Carries St. Louis encephalitis; widely distributed in the U.S., including throughout Texas;

SpeciesAedes excrucians – woodland mosquito — Bites man, carries heartworm, Sindbis virus; reaches greatest numbers in forested areas of northern North America; its range includes the northern 1/3 of the United States northward through most of Canada and Alaska. The southern limit extends on a line from New Jersey on the east coast to southern Oregon in the west. Populations in the higher elevations of the mountain states extend as far south as northern New Mexico; Ae. excrucians is a univoltine species with a typical northern Aedes life cycle; a single generation of eggs hatches early in the season and the larvae develop during the month of April; in the southern portion of its range, larvae may enter 4th instar as early as the second week of April; in higher elevations of the more northern counties, development is slower and larvae can be collected into early May; occasional specimens lag behind the main brood and linger in larval habitats in small numbers; in most cases, Ae. excrucians larvae that are slow to pupate show evidence of Vorticella parasitism and probably die before they enter the pupal stage; adults are on the wing during May and the females lay their eggs around the borders of snow pools that are rapidly drying down as the trees draw heavily on available ground water; embryos enter an obligatory diapause and do not hatch until the following spring regardless of how many times the pools flood during the summer months; can be found in a variety of early season habitats but the species is most common in snow pools lined with heavy leaf litter; usually found in moderate to deep pools but specimens can be collected from shallower breeding depressions that retain their level through spring water runoff; in northern Sussex County, N.J., the species is frequently mixed with Aedes communis but is always at least 2 instars behind; in the southern portion of its range, the species may be found with Aedes grossbecki in woodland pools located in lowland forests of Red Maple and Sweet Gum. Very dark habitat water is common at both the northern and southern extremes of its range;

SpeciesAedes fitchii– woodland mosquito — Bites man, carries Aleutian mink disease, heartworm, West Nile virus; a mosquito of the northern United States and Southern portion of Canada; its range extends from Maine to New Jersey on the eastern seaboard, west to northern Nevada and north into British Columbia. The species has a scattered distribution throughout the northern counties of New Jersey. Surprisingly large populations have been detected in some areas of the Pine Barrens in the southern portion of N.J.; Aedes fitchii is a univoltine species with a typical northern Aedes life cycle; in northern New Jersey, the single generation of eggs hatch in April and the larvae reach 4th instar during the early part of May; egg hatch may be staggered during the early season and a variety of instars can be collected from different habitats in the same geographic area; in southern New Jersey, this species frequently hatches during January thaws and 2nd instar larvae may be collected in small numbers throughout February and March; adults are on the wing in May , blood feed and deposit their eggs which do not hatch until the following spring; Aedes fitchii larvae have been reported from a wide variety of habitats but the species is most common in semi-permanent bodies of water in open areas that support emergent vegetation; is more apt to be collected in swamp habitats than woodland pools in New Jersey but the literature indicates that the species has a range that spans both habitats; roadside ditches that support emergent grasses are a common larval habitat in northern counties; abandoned cranberry bogs provide typical habitat in southern New Jersey;

SpeciesAedes fulvus pallens— Bites man, carries Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, West Nile virus; among the most striking mosquitoes of the southeastern U.S., not likely to be confused with any other species; adults are large and bright yellow and black; legs, proboscis, and palps are yellow with black tips; two large dark spots covered with black scales adorn otherwise yellow scutum; wings dark scaled; females readily bite humans, but rarely occur in large numbers; feed mostly on wild mammals, incl. rabbits, deer, armadillos, and rodents; not known as a vector of human pathogens; in Texas found in eastern and southern portions of the state;

SpeciesAedes grossbecki— Bites man, carries West Nile virus; medium sized to large with dark brown exoskeleton clad in brown and white scales; legs with broad bands of white scales at base of each tarsal segment; distinguished by broad triangular white and brown scales found on wings; brown proboscis usually with a few white scales near base; scutum has stripe of dark scales along dorsal midline bordered with patches of white scales laterally; abdomen dark brown with white bands at base of each segment; little known about female feeding habits, but females are known to feed broadly on wild and domestic animals and will bite humans; adults most prevalent in late winter and early spring; not known as important vectors of human pathogens; in Texas found only in extreme eastern portions of the state;

SpeciesAedes hendersoni— often misidentified as Ae. triseriatus due to numerous similarities in morphological characters; not known as a competent vector for human pathogens; specifically found incompetent vector of La Crosse (LAC) encephalitis virus because of a salivary gland escape (SGE) barrier (i.e., the salivary glands are infected but the mosquito fails to transmit the virus orally); intradermal probing behavior and ability to locate blood have been studied in infected mosquitoes as indicators of salivary gland impairment to determine if the SGE barrier was due to virus-induced pathology of the salivary glands, and no evidence of salivary gland impairment as a result of virus infection was detected; this was also true for Aedes triseriatus (Say), a competent vector of LAC virus, which was used as a control; however, coinfection of Ae. hendersoni with Plasmodium gallinaceum and LAC virus dramatically increased virus transmission (72 versus 8%), whereas transmission by coinfected Ae. triseriatus was not significantly affected; RANGE: scattered in Texas and eastward to Virginia; in Texas found in central and eastern portions of the state;

SpeciesAedes hensilli — Bites man, carries Zika virus; originally collected in 1945 on Ulithi atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and is considered the most abundant and widespread Aedes species in Yap State, the only Aedes species on Woleai, and the only species of mosquito present on Eauripik; the specific epithet recognizes the collector of the type specimens, Dr. George S. Hensill; larvae of Ae. hensilli develop in empty coconut shells, tree holes, and bamboo, and in artificial containers such as tin cans, discarded drums, barrels, bottles, tires, tarps, and floats; larvae were not found in leaf axils of pandanus trees or in taro plants; water barrels used to collect rainwater are major contributors to mosquito production due to the high number of larvae and pupae hosted in them; the adults are active primarily at dusk;

SpeciesAedes infirmatus — Bites man, carries California encephalitis virus, Keystone virus, trivittatus virus, West Nile virus, Western equine encephalitis; commonly known as the silverback mosquito due to the broad stripe of silver-white or bright yellowish scales down center of otherwise brown scutum; medium sized mosquito with brown and silvery white coloration; abdomen with lateral patches of silvery white scales at base of each segment; tarsi and wings are dark; adults of Ae. dupreei, Ae. atlanticus, and Ae. tormentor possess similar characters and are often misidentified as a result; adults of Ae. infirmatus encountered from spring through summer; females are persistent biters of mammals, including rabbits, armadillos, deer and humans, seeking hosts during daylight hours especially in wooded areas; not known to transmit human pathogens, though often found infected with a number of such pathogens; RANGE: mid and south Texas eastward through Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southern illinois and Indiana, Kentucky, and much of Virgina southward through Florida and the gulf states;

SpeciesAedes intrudens — Bites man, carries Jamestown Canyon virus

SpeciesAedes japonicus — recently (1998) introduced to North America from Japan where, in its native range, is a confirmed vector of Japanese encephalitis; its role in transmitting mosquito-borne pathogens in the U.S. is not yet known; medium-sized mosquito with black, white, and golden markings, which on the scutum are arranged in a pattern similar to the lyre-like markings of Ae. aegypti; lateral portions of thorax and abdomen have patches of silvery white scales; hind legs have broad pale bands on first 3 tarsal segments, but last two tarsal segments are entirely dark; females are persistent biters that attack when their resting vegetation is disturbed; attacks occur most frequently during early evening hours but can occur at any time of the day; females feed on mammals including humans; RANGE: first detected in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey, but has since spread through much of eastern U.S.; not presently known to be in Texas;

SpeciesAedes mitchellae — Carries Eastern equine encephalitis, Tensaw virus; originally collected in southern Georgia and Florida in 1905 by entomologist Harrison Gray Dyar, Jr.; a medium-sized mosquito with a scutum coated with golden-brown scales dorsally, bright white scales scattered in a brown background laterally; abdomen dark with bands of white scales at base of each segment and a pale mid-dorsal stripe that passes through the bands; proboscis mostly dark with a pale-scaled ring at its center; dark legs with white markings; tarsi of hind legs with broad white rings at base of each segment; similar to Ae. sollicitans, but distinguished by differences in wing scales, with Ae. mitchellae having dark scaled wings only while Ae. sollicitans has dark and pale wing scales intermixed; females rarely abundant; RANGE: extends through the coastal plains from the southeastern United States, north to New York and west to New Mexico with the greatest abundance in the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains; adults resemble Aedes sollicitans, are frequently captured in light traps, adult females have been characterized as “severe biters”, implying significance as a potential vector of arboviral diseases, larvae develop in fresh water in temporary rain-filled pools such as recently dug holes, puddles, temporary pools, and ditches, sometimes with emergent vegetation; in the extreme south they are reportedly found throughout the year following rains; Ae. mitchellae is a suspected vector of Tensaw virus and secondary vector of Eastern equine encephalitis;

SpeciesAedes nigripes — Bites man; one of two species of Aedes that persist at the highest arctic latitudes.

SpeciesAedes nigromaculis – pasture floodwater mosquito — Bites man, carries California encephalitis virus, St. Louis encephalitis, West Nile virus, Western equine encephalitis; first collected in California in 1937, suspected of being introduced into California from east of the Sierra Nevadas on alfalfa plants; Thereafter spread throughout the San Joaquin Valley; avidly blood-feeds on man and domestic animals and represents a pest species. The short (less than 5±7 days from egg to adult) and multi-voltine life cycle from April to October compound to facilitate rapid increase in numbers, requiring constant and costly abatement; laboratory virus vector com- petence studies have proven this species is capable of transmitting western equine encephalo- myelitis and St Louis encephalitis, although no isolations of either virus have been made from wild specimens in California;

SpeciesAedes polynesiensis — Bites man, carries Wuchereria bancrofti, dengue fever; commonly known as the Polynesian tiger mosquito, is only found in the South Pacific on the islands of Austral Islands, Cook Islands, Ellice Islands, Fiji Islands, Hoorn Islands, Marquesas Islands, Pitcairn Island, Samoa Islands, Society Islands, Tokelau Islands, Tuamotu Archipelago, where it is the vector of dengue and lymphatic filariasis, and is a probable vector of Zika virus;

SpeciesAedes provocans — Carries West Nile virus; nectar feeding by males and females of this mosquito was studied at a site near Belleville, Ontario, Canada; Canada plum, Prunus nigra, and especially pin cherry, P. pensylvanica, bloomed contemporaneously with the emergence of Ae. provocans and were important nectar sources for adult mosquitoes during their first week of life; blossoms of P. pensylvanica shielded for 24 h from foragers produced an average of 0.14 mg of sugar; this nectar was avidly sought by both sexes of Ae. provocans; > 97% of the blossoms were visited by mosquitoes in the first few days of blooming; young adult mosquitoes were found on blossoms at all hours of the day and night; feeding on P. nigra was strongly eocrepuscular, whereas on P. pensylvanica feeding was much less strongly periodic; adults foraged for nectar in an energy-conserving, pedestrian strategy, devoting 56% (females) and 68% (males) of their time on blossoms to nectar feeding during foraging bouts that lasted a median of 5.3 min.; both sexes sought nectar soon after emergence–males before they had completed hypopygial rotation or swarmed, and females before mating or host seeking; female Ae. provocans sought nectar in all stages of oogenesis, but primarily at the initiation of a gonotrophic cycle; energy stores in the crop averaged 18J per female, with a distribution that depended on gonotrophic age and parity;

Species Aedes sollicitans— Carries West Nile virus; known as the eastern saltmarsh mosquito (recently reclassified as Ochlerotatus sollicitans), is a species of mosquito native to the eastern seaboard of the United States and Canada, the entire Gulf coast and in the Bahamas and Greater Antilles; primarily found in coastal areas within a few miles of the coast, but occasionally found inland in areas with saline pools; reported as far west as Arizona; a prime vector for Eastern equine encephalitis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis and dog heartworm; has a conspicuous band of white scales around the central area of the proboscis and the anterior portion of the hind tarsomeres upon which there is also band a band of yellow scales in the middle; abdomen has white basal bands and is divided by a medial longitudinal stripe; thorax is white on the sides and the top is brown, yellow, golden and white; females lay eggs on dried substrate of salt pannes (depressions within salt marshes which dry out between periods of very high, spring tide); eggs hatch, when the panne fills at the next spring tide, in 4–5 days under optimal conditions; tends to stay within 5 miles of the coast on average; this range, which can be greater, depends on factors such as wind speed and duration; the species is an opportunistic feeder but tends to feed most actively at twilight; the female requires one blood meal for each egg batch with humans and other mammals as the primary hosts, and birds as secondary hosts; in the south the peak for adults occurs in the spring and fall; in its northern range peak adult population occurs in summer; last batches of eggs laid in the fall remain in diapause until the spring;

SpeciesAedes squamiger — Carries West Nile virus; commonly called the Winter Salt Marsh Mosquito because it breeds in salt and brackish marshes. It is medium to large in size with a grayish or black coloration; end tarsi of the legs have broad white bands; the mixture of dark and light scales on the wings gives them a “salt and pepper” appearance; the species occurs along the Pacific Coast from Sonoma County to Baja California; considered the major mosquito problem in the San Francisco Bay within the recorded history of the area;

SpeciesAedes sticticus — Carries West Nile virus; recently reclassified as Ochlerotatus sticticus; is uncommon in most locales but may be abundant along river floodlands; has been known to be responsible for human bites; has a patchy but wide distribution in temperate parts of Europe, Asia and North America, with an episodic and patchy distribution in Iowa and Wisconsin; little is known of its life cycle, but it is believed the species overwinters in the egg stage; a medium sized mosquito with brown, cream, and white coloration; scutum with dark median stripe down center bordered with patches of lighter-colored scales; tarsi and wings are dark scaled; females of Ae. aurifer, Ae. thibaulti, Ae. triseriatus, and Ae. hendersoni resemble Ae. sticticus, as each has a dark median stripe on scutum bordered with pale scales and tarsi without pale bands, but only Ae. sticticus females have complete pale bands on all abdominal segments;

SpeciesAedes stimulans — Carries West Nile virus; recently reclassified as Ochlerotatus stimulans, with the common name Woodland Mosquito; a univoltine Aedes of the northeastern United States and southern boundaries of eastern Canada; its range extends from Newfoundland south to Maryland, west to eastern Kansas and north to the upper Great Lakes region; a cryptic species, Aedes mercurator, previously reported as Ae. stimulans, replaces the species in the western United States, Northwest Territory of Canada and southwestern Alaska; Aedes stimulans is widely distributed in New Jersey but is most common in the northern third of the State. Scattered populations have been reported from most of the southern counties but the species cannot be considered common in any area of the Pine Barrens; has a typical northern Aedes life cycle; a single generation hatches from overwintering eggs in very early spring and the larvae develop in cold water habitats; is one of the first mosquitoes to appear in northern New Jersey, preceded only by Aedes communis and Aedes provocans; shares habitat with these snow pool Aedes in the extreme northwestern corner of Sussex County, but is generally about one instar behind; has an affinity for shaded woodland pools with a lining of heavy leaf litter; temporary pools formed by spring overflow of rivers and streams can be very productive; drainage ditches that are cut through forested areas are another habitat utilized by this species; deep snowpools filled with dark colored water favored by Ae. communis usually have minimal numbers of Ae. stimulans; when the two species coexist, the water is generally shallower and covered with a heavier lining of leaves; larvae favor shade and frequently congregate in the darker portions of the larval habitat;

Species Aedes taeniorhynchus— Carries West Nile virus; commonly known as the black salt marsh mosquito; very common in the eastern coastal areas of the Americas; responsible for a large part of mosquito insecticide applications in Florida; though not a primary vector of major concern, can transmit pathogens to humans and other animals; characteristic emergence in large numbers after rains and flooding events as well as its aggressive biting make it a notorious nuisance in Florida, where it is sheltered from large-scale mosquito control as part of the Everglades National Park conservation program to preserve the park’s delicate ecosystem; small to medium sized with a dark body ornamented with patches of pale scales; scutum covered with brownish scales; abdomen dark with narrow basal bands of white scales on each segment and patches of white scales laterally; tarsi of hind legs have white rings at base of each segment; proboscis dark with broad pale ring at center of 98-98.5% of females (1.5-2% lack this pale ring on the proboscis); palps short and dark with white scales at tips; wings dark; females feed mostly on mammals throughout the day or night; females strong fliers that may disperse many miles in search of a blood meal; adults rest in vegetation; females confirmed vectors of parasites responsible for dog heartworm in the U.S.; in Texas range through the Red River Valley, along the gulf coast to Florida, up the Atlantic seaboard as far north as Massachusetts; on the west coast, found on the Pacific seaboard from mid-California to Baja;

SpeciesAedes thibaulti — medium sized mosquito with black, brown, and golden coloration; palps, proboscis, tarsi are black; scutum with median stripe of dark brown scales bordered on each side by areas of golden scales; similar to Ae. aurifer, Ae. sticticus, Ae. triseriatus, and Ae. hendersoni, that can be distinguished by differences in coloration of the scutum and patterns of dark and pale scales on abdomen; females feed mainly on mammals, esp. raccoons, but readily bite humans that enter their habitat; most abundant in early spring, but may be encountered in early summer; females do not fly far from breeding habitat; larvae subterranean, found almost exclusively in dark, crypt-like water-filled holes in the ground, particularly under tree roots; not known to transmit human pathogens; RANGE: far east Texas through the gulf states to northern Florida; up the Mississippi valley to St. Louis, eastward through mid-Ohio, Michigan, and southern Canada, then southward, skirting the Appalachians, through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, and up the Atlantic seaboard as far north as New York;

SpeciesAedes triseriatus — Carries West Nile virus; recently reclassified as Ochlerotatus triseriatus; is a tree hole breeding mosquito in eastern North America, and a known vector of La Crosse Encephalitis; medium sized mosquito with black and silvery white coloration; scutum has jet black median stripe bordered with patches of silvery white scales; abdomen black, also with patches of silvery white scales on lateral margin of each segment; tarsi, proboscis, palps and wings dark scaled; adults of Ae. aurifer, Ae. hendersoni, Ae. sticticus, and Ae. thibaulti are similar in some respects; females feed on a variety of small mammals and some reptiles, particularly turtles, but do not normally feed on amphibians or birds; this species is a very important vector of La Crosse encephalitis virus in the U.S.; widely distributed across eastern half of U.S. and parts of southern Canada;

SpeciesAedes trivittatus — Carries West Nile virus; often misidentified as Ae. hendersoni due to similar appearance, similar biologies, and overlapping ranges; larvae are distinguished by differences in sizes of their anal papillae;

SpeciesAedes vexans — Carries West Nile virus, heartworm; a cosmopolitan and common pest mosquito, known to be a vector of Dirofilaria immitis (dog heartworm), Myxomatosis (deadly rabbit virus disease), and tahyna-virus — a seldom-diagnosed Bunyaviridae which affects humans in Europe with a fever of two days’ duration that afterward may cause Encephalitis or Meningitis; the species is the most common mosquito in Europe, often composing more than 80% the European mosquito community; abundance depends upon availability of floodwater pools; in summer, mosquito traps can collect up to 8,000 specimens per trap per night;

GenusOchlerotatus — originally established as a genus in 1891, but later merged with the genus Aedes; in the year 2000 the genus was restored, whereupon many of the described species and subgenera of the genus Aedes were transferred to it based on a number of taxonomic characters; a contentious worldwide debate then ensued, regarding the effect the taxonomic changes would have on names established over decades of work in scientific, government and lay communities, wherein many scientists and investigators in the field of mosquito biology, who were affected by the change, recommended the continued use of the previously established taxonomical designations; names; as a result those previously established names continue to be supported by and accepted for publication in a significant number of influential scientific journals; in this listing, the previously established names are considered as taking precedence; affected species include the following:

Species Ochlerotatus cantator — brown saltmarsh mosquito

Species Ochlerotatus serratus

SpeciesOchlerotatus sierrensis — western tree hole mosquito

Species Ochlerotatus sticticus

SpeciesOchlerotatus stimulans — woodland mosquito

SpeciesOchlerotatus triseriatus — eastern tree hole mosquito

Tribe Culicini (kew-LISS-eh-nee) —

GenusCulex (KEW-lecks) — named by Linnaeus from the Latin culex = gnat; several species serve as vectors of one or more important diseases of birds, humans and other animals, including such arboviruses as West Nile virus, nematodes such as filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, St. Louis encephalitis, and avian malaria; species in this genus occur worldwide except for the extreme northern parts of the temperate zone, and are the most common form of mosquito encountered in some major US cities such as Los Angeles; the genus includes over 1,000 species; depending on the species, the adult Culex mosquito measures 4–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) in length; the adult morphology is typical of flies in the suborder Nematocera, with the head, thorax, and abdomen clearly defined and the two fore wings held horizontally over the abdomen when at rest;

SpeciesCulex coronator — a recent arrival to the southeastern United States that, while not considered a major vector of human pathogens, females of this species have been collected in the field from whom important human pathogens have been isolated; prior to 2000, the species was only found in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona besides being common in Central and South America; since 2001 the species has spread to all the states on the Gulf Coast;

SpeciesCulex erraticus — small, dark brown, ornamented with patches of white scales on scutum and abdomen, the latter often dark dorsally but with narrow white basal bands; often difficult to distinguish from C. peccator and C. pilosus; females feed on the blood of many mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, but are particularly fond of deer and large wading birds; the species may be important as a vector for eastern equine encephalitis in the U.S.; the species is found throughout the eastern United States, and is common in Central America and northern South America;

SpeciesCulex nigripalpus — important vector of St. Louis encephalitis, eastern equine encephalitis, and West Nile encephalitis; found in the southeastern coastal states and western portions of Kentucky and Tennessee;

Williams, Craig R. et al. 2006. Optimizing Ovitrap Use for Aedes aegypti in Cairns, Queensland, Australia: Effects of Some Abiotic Factors on Field Efficacy. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 22(4):635–640